Fusion 360 - Fundamentals of Sketching and Modeling

A Fusion user on the Autodesk Fusion 360 Facebook page was having a hard time modeling a part. His sketch was complex, didn't perform well, and he had a hard time getting things to full constrain.
Let's take a look to see if we can model this part in a more fundamental and easy way that is also far more modifiable.
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[@advil000]

This is one of the absolute best practical use videos I've ever seen for Fusion 360. Fantastic.

[@stephenz6863]

Excellent. Clear and articulate. Just the kind of stuff I'm looking for, now that I'm starting to get a good handle on Fusion tools and concepts -- looking to optimize and automate. This tutorial was right on the money.

[@55418und]

This really helped me to finish my designs. Many thanks!

[@GulliversMom]

Great tutorial. I like that you are using some of the same steps more than once or twice, as I am a visual learner. You are a natural teacher. Thanks.

[@justorios6320]

Thank you for your time and work to teach.

[@brendanowen7563]

Really powerful tips. Thank you.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Brendan Owen Thanks Brendan. Was hoping to show the power of parametric design with this one and simple sketches can be built up to model a part.

[@DominikDubaj]

This is very nice way of dealing with such panels, thank you !

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Thanks Dominik. I hope it helps you for the rest of the panels you have to draw. You don't have to use the parameter trick if you don't want to. I thought you and others might like to see a real world use of using parameters and how you could update many features at the same time just by changing a number in a single place.

[@daren2973]

EXCELLENT video Kevin! I'm a big fan of your professionalism. Not only have you clearly demonstrated the power of using Parameters to cleanup & organize a common part in my world (custom woodworking, panel machining, whereas most Fusion stuff is aimed at metal work), you've also shown some quick reminders of how to use constraints (they're not very intuitive). The one thing I would add is what Bill Kellogg touched on; that often it's necessary to 'show' the overall part with all the dimensions on it for review or client sign-off, although I suspect this would be best accomplished with dimensioned 2D Drawings. Thanks for making these great tutorials Kevin.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

So here is the thing. While recording the video my intention was to have a link to a pdf or image file in the description. I couldn't figure out how to make that easily display so there was no master print for you guys to look at while I modeled this. You are correct that for a customer sign off you would probably present the customer a drawing packet. It is possible they may request the 3D models but the 2D drawing would probably be the document used. I don't have a lot of experience with wood. When I worked in Industry I had problems to solve and had to learn how to use the software to solve them. Now I know how to use the software but I struggle coming up with problems to solve. So if you have things you struggle with, I 'd love to hear about them at [e-mail]

[@capnthepeafarmer]

I'm totally on board with what you're saying because what you're trying to convey is the essence of PARAMETRIC modeling. I find that AutoCAD users tend to over-dimension stuff on a single sketch, old habits dire hard I guess.

[@BrianBoniMakes]

I really enjoyed the long video, especially the part near the end on selection sets. I'm at the point were I was looking for this kind of function but didn't know what it was called. Thanks!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Brian Boni Hi Brian. Thanks, I’m glad you found it useful. I know the parameters part might have been a little complex for some new users to follow, but I wanted everyone to see how they could be used. I was happy to find a way to show selection sets. I wasn’t sure if it would work for features, but was pleasantly surprised to find it worked there as well. Thanks for the comment.

[@automan1223]

next level skills Kevin ! Thank you for sharing this !

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Thanks you! It's sort of funny. I used Inventor for a long time before I learned about the parameters menu. I worked at a place designing HVAC equipment and they had a template design where you could enter some parameters and update different parts of a design. That is when the lightbulb went off for me. It is also a big part of the iLogic technology. I am hoping and assuming a version of iLogic will make its way into Fusion and then we will be able to do some really powerful things with parameters! Thanks for the comment.

[@debaserNYC]

Really helpful, thanks for this.

[@ulimacha]

I can't find a reason to dislike this video. 😀 Thank you for this video.

[@KrastyoKrastev]

Love it!

[@poetac15]

Amazing tutorial.

[@cmcleanertechnologies5354]

Great Job Kevin!! Please keep the videos coming and the length of the video was fine. I was in one of your classes at NYCCNC and you are a great Teacher!!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Is this Chris? Did I get your name right? From the Charlotte area? Glad you liked the video. Thanks for stopping by and saying hi and for the kind words.

[@cmcleanertechnologies5354]

Mechanical Advantage Kevin, Wow you have a great memory!! Yes it is Chris from the Charlotte Area. Did you ever get to Eldora for the Races? Keep doing what your doing because your doing great!!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

@@cmcleanertechnologies5354 Yeah, I did. A couple of people that were in one of the classes and I drove there to watch the World of Outlaw sprint cars. It was a cool track. The dirt track at Charlotte is the next big one I want to visit.

[@cmcleanertechnologies5354]

Mechanical Advantage, Let me know when you are coming and I will go with you!!

[@samboles3670]

That was terrific!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Sam Boles Hi Sam. Glad you liked it!

[@Snagglepuss1952]

Excellent, thank you.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

You are welcome! Glad you liked it.

[@jimburnsjr.]

Excellent!!

[@samsteel4456]

Learned a great deal here. Thank you. Perhaps you (or anyone) could answer this question: Is there a simple way to create a pattern along a path (say one direction of a rectangular pattern being created on a simple rectangle) in which all of the patterned features are equidistant from each other AND the the last feature is the same distance from the distal face as the original feature is from the proximal face of the rectangle? For example, the center of the first hole is 10mm from the left edge of the rectangle and the center of the last hole is 10mm from the right edge of the rectangle?

[@williammills5111]

Thank you!

[@TNSR-Destiny]

Absolutely fantastic^2. I was curious about what your sketch pad showed on the dashboard though. When you're placing constraints what is the exact key/button selected. I can't seem to get constraints applied...but I think I will be more organized about failing after watching this. THank YOU!

[@CapeCodCNC]

Wow that was cool!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Cape Cod CNC Hey Paul. Glad you liked it. I always talk about design intent in my classes and taking a minute to plan ahead. Hopefully you saw at the end how modifiable this design was. A few parameter changes update a bunch of features at once.

[@jamescullins2709]

Great job

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Hopefully it helped to show how to break a design down into smaller pieces to make things more manageable.

[@feelindizzy777]

is there a reason to not copy and paste the dog bone features? like, before the patterning. video is very helpful, thanks

[@vintage_rust]

Well I see your starting off 2019 with more excellent content (Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to produce this KZbin content) Was there a primary reason that the original sketch was not fully constrained? I was also in one of your NYCCNC classes in December 2018. Looking forward to seeing you and Saunders later this year for an advanced class. Keep up the great content.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Hi Davis. I’m still jealous of that Texas weather. We hit -35 real temp on Wednesday. The initial sketch probably could have been constrained. Hard to say thigh. There was a lot going on. With all those constraints, the sketch engine really has to work hard to solve the degrees of freedom. What you would probably end up with is a sketch that is as responsive as a slug. Thanks for stopping by and saying hi.

[@andyh8239]

Curious - there were a lot of repetitive actions to construct the rectangle cuts - could these have all been produced more easily using a copy / paste type method?

[@fificboi]

can you do a tutorial on a sheetmetal transition piece like a hexagon to square or lobsterback bend in fusion 360? so it can be flattened for folding.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Filipe Ngaluafe I really really really wish I could. But until Autodesk decides they want to come back after more than a year of incorporating the base sheet metal tools into Fusion to add more capability, like the lofted flange tool you are looking for, this just isn’t possible in Fusion 360 yet. Tell them what you want in their page. Make your voice be heard.

[@RobSteel117]

In the current version of F3D the "Rectangular Pattern" dialog has changed from what is shown in this video

[@billkellogg1403]

Great job! I think the length is good. Any less and it’s just a tip. Longer is cool too. You’re covering really important concepts. I was hoping you would show the “after” sketch with the reduced clutter.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Bill Kellogg Thanks Bill. There really is no “after” sketch to show though. I suppose I could have shut the solid off and then turned the visibility of all the sketches on. The biggest thing I was trying to show here was to keep sketched simple and use multiple sketches to create the features. Hopefully that point was clear. Thanks for the comment.

[@mkemachineinc.8058]

This is such an awesome video, thank you for making it. My sketches look like garbage and often times are not fully defined so this will help me a lot especially with repeating patterns. One question is that in the beginning you used the extrude command and then you started to use the push/pull command. Any reason to use one over the other? Thanks, Eric.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Good to hear it helped. I think this video will answer your question on press pull and extrude kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIe4eaxurbZpn8U

[@mkemachineinc.8058]

@@MechanicalAdvantage Another gem, that answered my question and then some. Thank you.

[@DCT_Aaron_Engineering]

Great video as per usual Kevin. Thank you for using mm's, International System of Units. I gather that you are using a MAC, as the processor appears to be running extremely fast. However, that could also be due to the -27 degrees celsius over there at the moment LOL. Keep up the great work buddy ;-)

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

DCTTeacher1 Thanks Aaron. Yep, this video was recorded on my 2012 iMac. It needs to be relaxed but it still seems to chug along.

[@Ricobass0]

Nice pace. Easy to follow. Not sure why you could not copy and move/rotate all the dog-boned rectangles. You must have drawn the same thing 3 or 4 times. Wasn't once enough?

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

When you copy and paste you generally break design intent. When I redrew them I used the same parameters so making dimensional changes would be very quick and it would globally change all the objects that use the same parameters with a single dimension change.

[@Ricobass0]

@@MechanicalAdvantage Ah-ha. Got it. Thanks. That's probably why I get tied up in knots sometimes.

[@_emanmodnar]

So it’s not possible to do a “stamp”/“blueprint” that you can easily reuse?

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

TromBoensvang as in a symbol for your drawing to say Released or Prototype? Something like that?

[@_emanmodnar]

@@MechanicalAdvantage I'm new to Fusion.. I thought that move/copy would refer to the original object, so making changes to this, it would change/update later objects..

[@LiveOff-Road]

Thank you for all your hard work creating articulate and concise videos. Im tansitioning to Fusion after working with another parametric program for years so have a decently good grasp of design intent, but Im learning all of the differences of how that applies to Fusion functionality. If design intent allows, is their a function to import a saved sketch into each feature (The dogbone cut outs in this case) so that there is no need to re-create the same geometry so many times? I appreciate learning about the ref parameters that you created as that will sometimes be very useful, but in some instances, using method that can still result in a lot of wasted motion/time creating those features and inserting those references over and over again. Thank you for your work and time!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Hi Sean. Thank you! I know you can copy and paste a sketch in the same design file, and I think you can do the same between design files. Also, have a look at the Fusion App Store where there is an add-on for making dog bones in an automated way.

[@skinife]

I can't help but notice that the holes desappeared 21:24. what happened?

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Not sure. I have. Feeling I didn’t select those to also be part of the pattern when I made the next pattern. Pretty sure it was just me missing it while talking through the tutorials.

[@skinife]

@@MechanicalAdvantage by the way, nice job!

[@CharlieRoamin]

...fundamental - LOL !!!!!

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Chuck Rannacher Hi Chuck. You don't think so? I'm not following you here?

[@rossclutterbuck1060]

how to sketch properly is fundamental to Fusion. I fail to see what you're "lol"ing about, or do you just like posting shit in comments?

[@shawnchurch316]

Fusion is one of the worst cad/modeling programs I have ever used.

[@MechanicalAdvantage]

Thank you for the incredibly helpful comment. I had a look at your channel and it’s super nice of you to share all of your expert CAD knowledge on your channel. Oh wait, you have never published anything. I really don’t understand why people like you comment like this. If Fusion is so terrible why are you even watching? You could have just scrolled by but nope.